Heart of Shadows

<blockquote> <b>⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱*Might Contain Spoilers*⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱</b> </blockquote><br />Hmm, this one wasn't so bad. Though I skimmed a bit, I did like that we get to see <b>Alice ‘Allie’ Evelyn Worth</b> (29, turns 30), a licensed private investigator was more vulnerable - though not weak. I like that we got to see her with her guard down even though <b>Sean Maclin</b> (42), werewolf alpha of the Tomb Mountain Pack has been through enough. I still wish Sean was <i>more</i>; more powerful, more dominant, more alpha. But I guess I understand why as the author is QUITE focused on Alice being the most powerful. There will never be any equality between Alice and Sean, that's for sure. And that is a bother to me.<br /><br />That said, I am really glad Alice finally saw <b>Charles Vaughan</b> (200), a member of the Vampire Court and a broker of mostly treasures and secrets for who he was. A manipulating son of a bitch who deserves <i>nothing</i>. Overall, this one was better than the last three books in the series as I'm glad we got to see Sean's POV. But the constant Alice being the powerful one, the one who gains even more power, it's starting to get annoying. I understand that she is unique and all that but come on...<br /><br /><b><u>Quick basic facts</u>:</b><br /><b>Genre</b>: - (Adult) Urban Fantasy (M/F)<br /><b>Series</b>: - Series, Book Five.<br /><b>Love triangle?</b> - <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="c3b32eda-bba5-45d6-a2e9-fb4b4a2e86d0" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="c3b32eda-bba5-45d6-a2e9-fb4b4a2e86d0">No.</label><br /><b>Cheating?</b> - <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="87ca88d0-0bc8-46a3-b248-2d7fff4c06ef" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="87ca88d0-0bc8-46a3-b248-2d7fff4c06ef">No.</label><br /><b>HEA?</b> - <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="e2c7025b-eae5-4cb2-9705-227f18977b21" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="e2c7025b-eae5-4cb2-9705-227f18977b21">No.</label><br /><b>Favorite character?</b> - Sean Maclin.<br /><b>Would I read more by this author/or of series?</b> - Yes.<br /><b>Would I recommend this book/series?</b> - Unsure.<br /><b>Will I read this again in the future?</b> - No.<br /><b>Rating</b> - 2.5/3 (weak) stars.

<b>Never trust the vampires…</b><br><br>I’ll admit that with all of the bad stuff going on in real life with Covid 19, I am looking for my reads to be completely un…real. Paranormal and historical romance is what I’m craving, so I’m not trying to gauge how they (the characters) would be coping with the Corona Virus. Sure, I wouldn’t mind having the vampires come in and give back to the community by donating their blood to cure the virus. I also wouldn’t mind a werewolf or two sharing their noses to ‘sniff out’ the carriers. I’m also a little bit jealous of the characters getting to go out on coffee dates. Sure, I can have coffee dates…as long as I apply social distancing, don’t sit down in a public eating area… Or better yet, stay home and make it myself. Maybe unreal doesn’t really shut out the real from creeping in.<br><br>I really enjoyed reading <i>Heart of Shadows</i> and getting to visit with Alice and Sean again. While I finished the story with a smile on my face, it did take a wee bit of time to settle in and get my bearings. I also had to deal with ‘time-jumping’ which I’m not a huge fan of. Once I did settle in and Alice’s journey was a little clearer, I remembered how much I love this series.<br><br>While <i>Heart of Shadows</i> storyline was interesting, and Alice’s mission as riveting as all of her previous ones, I found myself completely distracted by some new revelations. In this story, we get to know a LOT more about the vampires and how they’ve been playing the game up until now. To be honest, I’m a little disappointed at what was revealed about Charles. On one hand, I think I’m ready to cut ties with him after what was revealed. On the other hand, I feel like we might have missed something or maybe we’re not seeing the full picture clearly. I just can’t give up on him completely…YET!<br><br>Sean is still the love of my (bookish) life… I mean the perfect book boyfriend… I mean perfect for Alice. I am a sucker for a growly, possessive and bossy hero and Sean does it SO WELL!! I absolutely loved seeing him care for Alice when she was going through her memory loss. Sean just keeps improving with each new instalment to the series. <i>Lisa Edmonds,</i> please, Please, PLEASE do not change Sean or mess with the love of my... I mean Alice's life.<br><br>Honestly, in the first quarter of the book I was missing the old Alice. While I love seeing Alice and Sean’s relationship develop, there’s a little part of me that misses her strong, independent and slightly reckless behaviour. She still has a bit of this, but it’s like she’s maturing or something. How dare she mature and start caring about her loved ones and their feelings. ?<br><br>My beloved Malcolm does not play as huge a part in this story as he has in previous ones. This story is mostly about Sean and Alice’s deeper feelings and seeing their relationship move to the next level. There is a lot more ‘team effort’ in this one and we finally see Alice turn to her ‘pack’ for help.<br><br>I am a huge fan of this series and after that little glimpse into the next instalment, I can’t wait for more. If you haven’t tried the <i>Alice Worth</i> series yet, I definitely recommend giving it a try.<br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1548709401i/26982519.jpg" width="300" height="300" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy">

3.5 Better than I expected<br /><br />I don't normally like books in a series where the MC forgets their memory, so I was very pleasantly surprised to see that I really enjoyed this one (yay again for Alice!).<br /><br />Unfortunately, I felt like I was reading a filler book. Not much happened in the main plot, and I was very excited to see how it would go on.<br /><br />Oh well, still a very good series, and I'm still very excited to see where the story goes and what happens in the next book. <br />Only half a year left to wait until the next book is released *sigh*

I’d like to thank the author for gifting me with an ARC to read and review.<br /><br />Since I discovered the Alice Worth Series a couple of years ago I’ve become a stalwart fan. She doesn’t disappoint. <br />In Heart of Shadows the story starts off with Alice having been hurt. I admit I felt reluctant to dive in at first because I just wanted the poor woman to have a break! But, once things got going, the world building and characters grabbed me, as always. <br />One thing I really liked about this addition was that we saw a different side of Alice and she continues to grow in her relationship with not only Sean and the pack but also with a few other characters. In the early books she was pretty much like a scary dangerous hedgehog! In this book she is still gutsy and powerful but also not so busy pushing everyone away. <br />The action was non-stop as usual and the I couldn’t put the book down for the second half of the story. <br />The only reason I didn’t give this five stars was because the timeline format used in this book was one where it jumps from the present to past a few times and I really dislike that. My analytical brain gets sidetracked on a continuous loop trying to calculate ‘was it really four days ago or was it three?’.<br />I hope Edmonds plans to either wrap up this particular series and start another one or wrap up this story arc within the next book or two. I really like the world she has built and would love more stories set in this world <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="541f4e6f-4776-4859-b771-41cb5745e9fb" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="541f4e6f-4776-4859-b771-41cb5745e9fb"> but want to see the end of the drama around Moses Murphy and the threat he poses. </label>.

I just feel like this series keeps getting better and better. But now that I'm all caught up I can't wait for the next book to come out!<br><br>Oh, and P.S.--Sean is a freakin top teir book boyfriend. <br><b>Give him the gold!</b><br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1596232212ra/29895023.gif" width="300" height="250" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy">

I love this series in general, and I re-read the first four in preparation for this fifth release. Unfortunately this turned out to be my least favorite by far. The author still writes well, I still love the series and plan to continue, but for the bad parts:<br /><br />1. Amnesia. I hate it. Loathe it. If it's the plot of a standalone, I avoid it. Having Amnesia in the main character for almost the entire book right in the middle of a series is a nightmare. I don't feel like seeing her meet people all over again and discover things all over again --- I'd rather get plot progression from the events of the last book. More development in relationships instead of her not remembering anyone. Argh.<br /><br />2. Dual POV. Alice was always single pov. The author, probably due to the amnesia or maybe wanting to change this more to PNR than Urban Fantasy/Mystery, mainly told this through Sean's POV. I love Sean, but I don't like romantic dual POV. We already know how he feels about her, so having it repeated in her head, then his directly, made it repetitive and dull.<br /><br />3. Not much plot. There's some back and forth time shifts in the storyline, but really this one has the slowest plot out of the Alice Worth books. The majority is spent with her and Sean going over a lot of the same ground they've already covered in previous books, and a few scenes with Nan and Carly. There's a cool sorcerer battle but the book is large and it needed more action and direction. I will say we got a potent moment out of the real Alice's past that was well written.<br /><br />4. The author has decided to kill any good relationship with Charles. I'm team Sean all the way but I liked Alice's bond of at least friendship with the vamp. That was pretty much tossed out the window now.<br /><br />5. There's no connection to anything with Moses, which has the been the large story of the first four books, and the ending cliffhanger of the fourth - nothing is progressed there at all. In addition, we don't get anything more resolved with her potential new family member other than a cliffhanger. Lake and others from previous books aren't here at all. There isn't a big mystery other than Alice trying to recover power and memories.<br /><br />6. For someone who is supposedly so powerful, can we please have her stop getting hurt every other chapter in every book?<br /><br />7. It's a personal pet peeve of mine that the powerful can have their powers easily stolen. If that's the case with the worldbuilding, I can't be that impressed by their power.<br /><br />8. The wolf thing is awesome - but I still want her to be in her roots involved with all the supe groups and herself instead of making it all about wolves, which is where the story seems to be suddenly heading. <br /><br />Sadly the book was mainly dull, it pains me to admit it. Some of my dislike of it is personal pet peeves that aren't the books fault (my irritation at convenient amnesia or powers being stolen), but otherwise the book's shift of POV made it feel basic and repetitive, the filler quality without much story and not continuing any of Alice's personal story was a disappointment after the wait, I was saddened to see every character associated with the vamps at all to now being enemies again (she's even rude to Brian instantly at the beginning).<br /><br />

<img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1453375073i/17818103.jpg" width="130" height="30" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br><b>First read: 04/2020 - 5 stars<br>Re-read: 10/2020 - still 5 stars!</b><br><br>Another brilliant addition to this series.<br>I feel like all the praise I want to unleash on this book, I've already said in my previous reviews, so I'll keep this short and simple:<br>I haven't come across any other series or any other author that has managed to satisfy my reading needs as perfectly as Lisa Edmonds and her Alice Worth. 5 books, 5 stars each. Unheard of for me!<br>♥ ♥ ♥

<b>4 1/2 to 5 stars</b><br /><br />

I discovered this series at the end of last year and binge read all of the current books, so imagine my delight when I got an ARC!<br /><br />In my opinion, the previous books were some of the best new Urban Fantasy I have read in a long time, and this new installment was no different.<br /><br />Alice is an incredibly complex, well drawn character, who has undergone really carefully thought out character development throughout the series. That level of characterisation is rare in the paranormal genres, in books that, as enjoyable as many of them can be, are just entertaining trashy reads. This series really stands out for me because of that.<br /><br />The world building is excellent and keeps growing and twill has so much potential for more. I love the way we keep greeting new layers in each book, slowly building up our knowledge and impressions.<br /><br />Alice really goes through the wringer in this one. It is fast paced and action packed, with the duel narrative of Alice post and ore memory loss working really well in the first half of the book. The way it all resolved was a little predictable, but with some surprises thrown in, too.<br /><br />Alice and Sean's relationship also undergoes some welcome development. One of my only gripes with the series has been the level of angst between them, but they really move past that here and the memory loss has a good, rather than a negative effect on their relationship. I really love Sean. He seems too good and understanding to be true, but it is nice to have an alpha character who is unashamedly just a good guy.<br /><br />My only small issue is Charles and the revelations and the way this was dealt with. I've never thought Charles was a viable option for Alice and I don't think the author has ever made it appear so, which is why I've been able to tolerate it, as I despise love triangles as a lazy plot device to manufacture relationship drama. This has never really felt like a love triangle, although it has, at times, come close. Charles is an interesting side character and I felt like he was one is a bit of a disservice here, as he never got a chance to explain himself.<br /><br />The next book has been set up to deal with all sorts of issues exciting and challenging for Alice, Sean and the gang and I absolutely cannot wait to real more!

<b> The Year of the Brief Review...and this year is already 12 months to long </b><br>Despite being a HUGE fan of Lisa's books, this one just wasn't for me...I just can't stand the use of moving back and forward in time in a story. Despite the fact that it didn't reveal all and there was a nice twist at the end it still felt like, reading the end first ...I am clearly too linear in thinking (Yes, I did have something ruder in mind ).<br><br>So please don't let this review stop you reading the book, I am sure you will enjoy it.<br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1584702442ra/29136183.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy">